During a quarterly earning calls on Friday, Meredith Corp. officials said the company plans to sell the TIME, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Money brands and its 60 percent stake in Viant in early fiscal year 2019, which began in July.

A spokesman for the company later clarified that the hope is for deals to be "finalized in the first half of fiscal 2019," or the end of December.

The goal of the sales is to "simplify and focus Meredith's national media portfolio," according to a press release.

"These brands and businesses have different target audiences and revenue bases than the rest of portfolio and we believe each is is better suited for success with a new owner," Meredith executive chairman Steve Lacy said during the earnings call.

Meredith owns a number of other national magazines, including Entertainment Weekly, Food and Wine, and People. Its broadcasting division owns 16 local television stations across the country.

His primary competition is believed to be a group that includes Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, motivational speaker Tony Robbins and Joshua Pollack, chief executive of the Velocity Group.

The New York Post reported in July that the William Morris Endeavor talent agency dropped out of the bidding as the price rose and that only two or three bidders remain for each of the four magazines. Vanity Fair reported in May that Meredith rejected an offer of more than $300 million for all four titles from National Enquirer owner David Pecker, and that more than 20 bidders have shown interest in just Sports Illustrated.

A source close to Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris said a $125 million bid by Harris and his partners for Sports Illustrated was rejected.

Bound by a nondisclosure agreement, Bridgeman addressed the rumors only in general terms during an interview with the Courier Journal on Sunday. He said, “I would think that ($125 million) would not quite get it done."

Bridgeman, 64, was twice the Missouri Valley Conference’s Player of the Year at U of L, and starred on its 1975 Final Four team. A first-round selection of the Los Angeles Lakers, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in the deal that brought Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to LA. He averaged 13.6 points per game during a 10-year NBA career and had his No. 2 jersey retired by the Bucks.